ICTs for e-EnvironmentGuidelines for Developing Countries, with a Focus on Climate Change pptx

ICTs for e-Environment
Guidelines for Developing Countries,
with a Focus on Climate Change
ICT Applications and Cybersecurity Division
Policies and Strategies Department
ITU Telecommunication Development Sector
Final report





Acknowledgements
This report, ICTs for e-Environment – Guidelines for Developing Countries, with a Focus on Climate Change was prepared by
Richard Labelle (), The Aylmer Group; with input from Ralph Rodschat (Ralph Rodschat
) in Montreal, Canada; and Tony Vetter () of the International Institute for Sustainable
Development (IISD), Winnipeg, Canada; under the supervision of Kerstin Ludwig, ITU ().
The authors wish to acknowledge the input of several in the preparation of this report. Many thanks to Robert Shaw, former
Head of the ITU’s ICT Applications and Cybersecurity Division for initiating the project and commenting on successive drafts.
Thanks also to Kerstin Ludwig, of the ICT Applications and Cybersecurity Division at ITU, for initiating the project, helping to
conceptualize and structure the report, to contribute to its content and format as well as providing critical comments throughout
the project. The overall layout, CD-Rom layout and desktop publishing were done by Sarah Roxas. Administrative support was
provided by Anne-Marie Gertsch, and the team at ITU’s Publication Composition Service produced the report and the CD-Rom.
Ralph Rodschat would like to thank Nortel for the authorization to participate in this study, as an independent advisor. The
views expressed in this document do not necessarily represent the views of Nortel.
We also wish to thank Kevin Grose, Coordinator of the Information Service programme and his colleagues of the Secretariat of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany; Derek Gliddon, Programme
Head, Spatial Unit and Jerry Harrison, Head of Development, at UNEP-WCMC offices in Cambridge, United Kingdom; Mr.
Markus Lehmann, Economist, Social, Economic and Legal Affairs and Mr. Olivier de Munck, Programme Officer responsible
for the Clearing-House Mechanism at the Secretariat of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal,

Canada; Raúl Zambrano, Senior Policy Advisor, ICT & Governance, UNDP/BDP/DGG, UNDP, New York, USA; Dr. Stephen
Woodley, Chief Scientist, Ecological Integrity Branch, Parks Canada, and his colleagues David Clark Ecological Information
Specialist and Steve Duquette in Gatineau, Québec, Canada for introducing the author to Natureserve and related applications
and discussing its central importance as part of Parks Canada’s efforts to document and preserve biodiversity; Dr. Michel
Schouppe, Research Programme Officer in the field of ICT for the Environment at the European Commission (DG INFSO); Dr.
Carsten Hellpap and Peter Rave of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ); Mr. Arnaud de Vanssay,
Associate Programme Officer, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Bonn, Germany; Dr. Ashbindu Singh,
Regional Coordinator, UNEP Regional Office for North America; Mr. Jason Suwacki, Hatfield Consultants, Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada; Mr. David Leeming, Project Manager, Distance Learning Centres Project (DLCP), Technical Advisor,
People First Network (PFnet), Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, Solomon Islands.
Many thanks to Dr. Carmelle Terborgh, International Relations-Sustainable Development researcher at the Environmental
Systems Research Institute (ESRI) who was very generous with her time and knowledge of ESRI’s GIS applications. Thanks
also go out to Mark McGovern, Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist at Environment Canada’s Science and Risk Assessment
Branch for sharing his knowledge and insights into their use of GIS to Monitor, Account, and Report on Greenhouse Gases.
Thanks as well to Neil Morgan, Global Intranet Manager at WWF International for his insights on how WWF leverages its
Intranet to achieve its operational goals.
We also wish to thank Mr. Jean-Max Beauchamp of Environment Canada in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada for bringing this
opportunity to our attention.
This document is formatted for printing recto-verso. This document has been issued without formal editing.
For further information and to make comments on this document, please contact:

ICT Applications and Cybersecurity Division (CYB)
Policies and Strategies Department
Telecommunication Development Bureau
International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 730 5825/6052
Fax: +41 22 730 5484
E-mail:

Website: www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) or its membership. The designations employed and the presentation of material, including
maps, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of ITU concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, city or area, or concerning the delimitations of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or of
certain products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by ITU in preference to others of a similar nature that
are not mentioned.
© ITU 2008


a) The use and promotion of ICTs as an
instrument for environmental protection and the
sustainable use of natural resources; b) The initiation of actions and
implementation of projects and programmes for sustainable production and
consumption and the environmentally safe disposal and recycling of discarded
hardware and components used in ICTs, and; c) The establishment of
monitoring systems, using ICTs, to forecast and monitor the impact of natural
and man-made disasters, particularly in developing countries, LDCs and small
economies
1
.


3 Please consider the environment before printing this report.



1
Derived from the text in the Geneva Plan of Action (2003) from the World Summit on the Information Society

(WSIS) Action Line C7: E-environment ( />)
e-Environment



TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. EXECUTIVESUMMARY IX
2. BACKGROUNDINFORMATIONONTHISREPORT 1
2.1. INTRODUCTION 1
2.2. AGROWINGINTERESTINCLIMATECHANGE 1
2.3. BACKGROUNDONTHISREPORT 2
2.4. INVESTIGATORSWHOCONTRIBUTEDTOTHEREPORT 2
2.5. TERMSOFREFERENCE 3
2.6. DEFINITIONS 3
Informationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT) 3
e‐Environment 3
2.7. SCOPEOFSTUDY 3
2.8. METHODOLOGY 4
3. ICTSANDINTERNATIONALDEVELOPMENT 5
3.1. INTRODUCTION 5
3.2. ICTDIFFUSIONAROUNDTHEWORLD 5
3.3. THEDIGITALDIVIDE 6
3.4. ACCESSTOPCS:ANISSUEINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES 7
3.5. BROADBANDACCESSTOONLINEDATAANDKNOWLEDGERESOURCES 7
3.6. THEIMPORTANCEOFBEINGMOBILE 8
3.7. SATURATINGTHEINTERNET? 8
3.8. THEIMPORTANCEOFBEINGFIBER 9
3.9. IMPACTOFICTSONPRODUCTIVITYANDNATIONALDEVELOPMENT 10
Socialimpact 11
Humanimpact 11

Economicimpact 11
Impactonresearchanddevelopment 12
Impactontheenvironment 12
4. THEENVIRONMENTANDINTERNATIONALDEVELOPMENT 13
4.1. INTRODUCTION 13
4.2. THECHANGINGPERCEPTIONSOFTHEENVIRONMENT 13
4.3. INTERNATIONALAGREEMENTS 15
4.4. ENVIRONMENTISSUESANDPRIORITIES 16
DisastersandClimateChange 16
Adaptationtoclimatechange 17
4.5. SUPPORTFORTHEENVIRONMENTININTERNATIONALDEVELOPMENTACTIVITIES 17
4.6. PRIORITIESOFINTERNATIONALDEVELOPMENT 19
4.7. MAINSTREAMINGTHEENVIRONMENTINDEVELOPMENTCONCERNS 19
4.8. THEGLOBALENVIRONMENTFACILITY 20
4.9. SPECIALCLIMATECHANGEADAPTATIONFUND(SCCF) 20
5. ICTSINTHESTUDYANDMANAGEMENTOFTHEENVIRONMENT 21
5.1. INTRODUCTION 21
5.2. OVERVIEWOFTE CHNOLOGIES 22
5.3. RESEARCHONICTSFORTHEENVIR ONMENT 23
6. ICTAPPLICATIONCATEGORIES 25
6.1. OVERVIEW 25
7. USEOFICTSFORENVIRONMENTALOBSERVATION 29
7.1. OVERVIEW 29

7.2. REMOTESENSING 29
7.3. COLLECTIONOFPRIMARYSCIENTIFICDATAABOUTTHEENVIRONMENT 29
7.4. ACCESSINGANDEVALUATINGENVIRONMENTALINFORMATION 29
7.5. THEORIGINSOFREMOTESENSINGTECHNOLOGIES 30
7.6. SOMEKEYICTS 31
7.7. SOMEKEYORGANIZATIONS 32

7.8. UNEPWCMC 32
7.9. KEYAPPLICATIONSFOROBSERVATION 34
7.10. GISDATABASESANDPRESENTATIONTOOLS 34
7.11. VISUALEARTHBROWSERSANDMARK‐UPTOOLS 35
7.12. DATASHARINGSTANDARDSANDAPPLICATIONS 37
7.13. CLEARINGHOUSEMECHANISMS(CHMS) 38
7.14. CCINETOPERATEDBYTHEUNITEDNATIONSFRAMEWORKCONVENTIONONCLIMATECHANGE 39
7.15. TT:CLEAR 39
7.16. UNFCCCSTAFFCOMMENTSONICTUSE 40
7.17. THECLEARINGHOUSEMECHANISMOFTHECONVENTIONONBIOLOGICALDIVERSITY 40
7.18. USINGICTSFORBIODIVERSITYMAPPING 41
7.19. INSTITUTIONALISSUES 41
7.20. USINGICTSINTHEENVIRONMENTSECTORISALSOANE‐GOVERNMENTISSUE 42
7.21. THENEEDFORACOORDINATEDAPPROACH 42
7.22. USINGWEBSERVICESFORAGLOBALBIODIVERSITYCHM 42
7.23. UNITEDNATIONSCONVENTIONTOCOMBATDESERTIFICATION 43
7.24. ISSUESANDTRENDSANDRELEVANCETODEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES 43
8. USEOFICTSFORENVIRONMENTALANALYSIS 45
8.1. OVERVIEW 45
8.2. GRIDCOMPUTING 45
8.3. ENVIRONMENTALMODELS 46
8.4. NUMERICALANALYSIS,SIMULATIONANDMODELINGFORUNDERSTANDINGCLIMATECHANGE 48
8.5. GEOGRAPHICINFORMATIONSYSTEMS 50
8.6. ENERGYEFFICIENTCOMPUTERCHIPSANDCHIPARRAYS 50
8.7. ENERGYEFFICIENTPROGRAMMESINCPUDESIGN 51
8.8. KEYICTS 51
8.9. KEYORGANIZATIONS 51
8.10. KEYAPPLICATIONS 52
8.11. ISSUESANDTRENDS 52
8.12. RELEVANCETODEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES 53

9. USEOFICTSFORENVIRONMENTALPLANNING 57
9.1. OVERVIEW 57
9.2. BACKGROUND 57
9.3. KEYICTSANDAPPLICATIONS 57
9.4. KEYORGANIZATIONS 58
9.5. KEYAPPLICATIONS 58
9.6. ISSUESANDTRENDS 58
9.7. RELEVANCETODEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES 59
10. USEOFICTSFORENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENTANDPROTECTION 61
10.1. OVERVIEW 61
10.2. BACKGROUND 61
10.3. INTELLIGENTBUILDINGSYSTEMS 62
10.4. KEYICTS 63
10.5. KEYORGANIZATIONS 63
10.6. KEYAPPLICATIONS 63
ICTsformanagingthenaturalenvironment 63


ICTsformanagingthehumanenvironment 63
10.7. ISSUESANDTRENDS 65
10.8. RELEVANCETODEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES 65
11. IMPACTANDMITIGATINGEFFECTSOFICTS 67
11.1. OVERVIEW 67
11.2. RESEARCHONTHEIMPACTOFICTSONTHEENVIRONMENT 67
11.3. MAINBENEFITSOFICTSFORENVIRONMENTALACTION 69
ICTsformobilizingenvironmentalaction 69
ComputationalandenvironmentalbenefitsofusingICTs 70
Thebenefitsofe‐Business,e‐Governmentande‐Commerce 71
11.4. THEEFFECTOFBROADBANDANDRELATEDAPPLICATIONSONTHEENVIRONMENT 71
11.5. USINGICTSTOREDUCEGHGEMISSIONSANDCONTRIBUTETOSUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT 73

DirecteffectsofICTuse: 75
IndirecteffectsofICTuse 75
SystemiceffectsoftheuseofICT 75
11.6. DELETERIOUSIMPACTSOFINCREASEDUSEOFICTSONTHEENVIRONMENT 77
Heavymetalpollution 77
EnergycostofusingICTs 78
11.7. THETRENDTOWARDINCREASINGICTENERGYSAVINGSANDE‐WASTEREDUCTION 78
11.8. GREENINGICTS 82
11.9. SEAWATER,VIRTUALIZATIONANDSOLARPOWER? 82
11.10. KEYICTS 83
11.11. KEYORGANIZATIONS 83
11.12. KEYAPPLICATIONS 83
11.13. ISSUESANDTRENDS 84
11.14. RELEVANCETODEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES 84
12. ICTSFORENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENTCAPACITYBUILDING 85
12.1. OVERVIEW 85
12.2. ICTSINEDUCATIONABOUTTHEENVIRONMENT 85
12.3. ONLINEANDDIGITALLEARNINGABOUTTHEENVIRONMENT 86
12.4. PUBLICCOMMUNICATIONMEDIA 87
12.5. ENVIRONMENTALAWARENESSKITS 88
12.6. EDUCATION 88
12.7. SOLOMONISLANDSTRIALSFORTHEDISTRIBUTIONOFTHEOLPC 89
12.8. KEYICTS 90
12.9. KEYORGANIZATIONS 90
12.10. KEYAPPLICATIONS 90
12.11. ISSUESANDTRENDS 91
12.12. RELEVANCETODEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES 91
13. FINDINGS,CONCLUSIONSANDRECOMMENDATIONS 93
13.1. SUMMARYOFFINDINGS 93
CurrentstatusandtrendsinICTuseforenvironmentalmanagementindevelopingcountries 93

ImpactofICTsontheenvironment 95
ICTsfacilitateenvironmentalresearchandmanagement 95
Whatarethebenefitsoftheinformationeconomy? 95
WhyarebenefitsofICTsnotdiffusingequitablyaroundtheworld? 95
13.2. CONCLUSIONS 97
CanICTshelpreduceGHGemissionsandenvironmentalimpactgenerally? 97
Understanding&actingontheenvironmentdependsonICTs 98
Thereisaneedtoact 99
13.3. RECOMMENDATIONS 100
Awarenesspromotion 100

13.4. STRATEGICPLANNINGFRAMEWORK 102
Rapide‐Environmentassessmentsandaudits 105
Ane‐Environmenttoolkit 105
Proposalsforfutureactionregardingthisreport 106
14. ANNEX1:RANKINGE‐ENVIRONMENTAPPLICATIONS 107
14.1. IMPLEMENTINGE‐ENVIRONMENTATTHENATIONALLEVEL 107
14.2. ANALYZINGTHEE‐ENVIRONMENTORGANIZATIONALDOMAIN 108
14.3. EXAMPLE1:FAMINEEARLYWARNINGSYSTEMFEWS 110
ApplicationDescription: 110
Categoriescovered: 110
14.4. EXAMPLE2:TREESFORTOMORROWFORESTRYMANAGEMENTINJAMAICA 112
ApplicationDescription: 112
Categoriescovered: 113
Ranking 113
14.5. EXAMPLE3:NATURESERVE–BIOTICS‐4 114
ApplicationDescription: 114
Categoriescovered: 114
Ranking 114
14.6. EXAMPLE4:GREENHOUSEGAS(GHG)MONITORING,ACCOUNTINGANDREPORTING–ENVIRONMENTCANADA 117

ApplicationDescription: 117
Categoriescovered: 119
Ranking 119
14.7. EXAMPLE5:INTERNATIONALTRANSACTIONLOG(OFTHEKYOTOPROTOCOLREGISTRIESSYSTEM) 120
ApplicationDescription: 120
Categoriescovered: 121
Ranking 121
15. ANNEX2:ICTAPPLICATIONSLISTINCLUDINGDESCRIPTIONANDLINKS 123
16. ANNEX3:REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY 159
17. ANNEX4:ORGANIZATIONSANDEXPERTS 160
18. ANNEX5.TERMSOFREFERENCE 169

Table of figures
FIGURE1.GROWTHINFIXEDLINES,MOBILESUBSCRIBERSANDINTERNETUSERS,INBILLIONS,WORLD(1996‐2006) 5
FIGURE2.PENETRATIONOFSELECTEDICTS,BYCATEGORYOFECONOMIES,1996‐2006 6
FIGURE3.GROWTHINBROADBANDUSEINHOUSEHOLDS,2006‐2007 8
FIGURE4.SUBMARINECABLEMAP2007 10
FIGURE5.ICTSCONTRIBUTIONTOECONOMICGROWTH 11
FIGURE6.ICTAPPLICATIONCATEGORIES 25
FIGURE7.THEGLOBALOBSERVINGSYSTEMOFTHEWORLDWEATHERWATCHOPERATEDBYTHEWMO 31
FIGURE8.WORLDMAPSHOWINGDISTRIBUTIONOFCLIMATEPREDICTION.NETSERVERS 48
FIGURE9.PROGRESSIONOFCLIMATEMODELS 49
FIGURE10.IMPACTOFEARLYWARNINGSYSTEMSONMORTALITY‐COASTALUSA 62
FIGURE11.ESTIMATEDREDUCTIONINGHGEMISSIONSFORGIVENBROADBANDAPPLICATIONSINTHEUSA 73
FIGURE12.BREAKDOWNOFAUSTRALIANENERGYEMISSIONSBYSECTOR 81
FIGURE13.THENEPTUNEOCEANENVIRONMENTALOBSERVATORYONLINE 88
FIGURE14.SOMEORGANIZATIONSINVOLVEDINE‐ENVIRONMENTANDPOSSIBLELINKAGES 109
FIGURE15.FEWSORGANIZATIONALLINKS 111
FIGURE14.ROLEOFBIOTICS4INCONSERVATIONINFORMATIONVALUECHAIN 115
FIGURE17.BIOTICSROLLOUTLAC 116

FIGURE18:SAMPLINGGRIDSOVERIMAGERYFORFORESTCONVERSIONMAPPINGANDDELINEATEDFORESTCONVERSIONEVENTS
118


FIGURE16:REGISTRYSYSTEMSUNDERTHEKYOTOPROTOCOL 121
FIGURE20.E‐ENVIRONMENTICTAPPLICATIONMAP 123

Tables
TABLE1.MAJORINTERNATIONALENVIRONMENTALAGREEMENTS 15
TABLE2.ANNUALELECTRICITYUSEOFTHEINTERNET:USANDWORLD 78

Text boxes
TEXTBOX1.HUMANITARIANCOSTSOFCLIMATECHANGE 16
TEXTBOX2.COOPERATIONBETWEENRWANDAANDESRI 35
TEXTBOX3.UNEPANDGOOGLEEARTHHIGHLIGHTENVIRONMENTALHOTSPOTS 37
TEXTBOX4.WHATISGRIDCOMPUTING 47
TEXTBOX5.THETHREEORDEREFFECTSOFICTS 68
TEXTBOX6.WHATISDEMATERIALIZATION? 70
TEXTBOX7.SOMEPRACTICALCOMPONENTSOFANE ‐SUSTAINABILITYORE‐ENVIRONMENTSTRATEGY 77
TEXTBOX8:NEXTGENERATIONNETWORKS 80


ICTs for e-Environment ix
www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/app/e-env.html
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The impact of human activities on the environment – and on climate change in particular – are issues
of growing concern confronting life on Earth. At the same time, information and communication
technologies (ICTs) are being rapidly deployed around the world. Although ICTs require energy
resources, they also offer a number of opportunities to advance global environmental research,
planning and action. This includes monitoring and protecting the environment as well as mitigation of

and adaptation to climate change.
This report, ICTs for e-Environment, reviews key ICT trends and provides an overview of the impact
that ICTs have on the environment and climate change as well as their role in helping mankind to
mitigate and adapt to these changes. Intended as guidelines for developing countries, the report
approaches the topic from a developmental perspective and is based on consultations with key actors
and extensive online research. The ICTs for e-Environment report documents current activities and
initiatives and makes a set of recommendations for strengthening the capacity of developing countries
to make beneficial use of ICTs to mitigate and adapt to environmental change, including climate
change.
The ICTs for e-Environment report presents the results of research that demonstrate that ICTs can help
to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while increasing energy efficiency and
reducing the use of natural resources. This is achieved through the use of ICTs for travel replacement,
dematerialization and reduced energy consumption. The report indicates there is a need for more
research to understand the long-term impacts of ICTs on human activities. For example, there is a need
to undertake life cycle assessments (LCAs) of ICT impacts on the environment and especially on
GHG emissions and energy consumption. The report also looks extensively at the use of ICTs in many
different aspects of work on the environment, including environmental observation, analysis, planning,
management and protection, mitigation and capacity building.
The report demonstrates that ICTs are essential to our understanding of the environment and to our
ability to deal with environmental change. Newly developed high speed processors using energy
efficient CPU designs along with the rapid diffusion of advanced broadband networks and deployment
of web-based services are transforming the way environmental research, learning and decision-making
are taking place. Faster processors using ever larger, accurate and detailed data sets are increasingly
linked together through GRID networks and this is permitting more accurate, predictive and complete
modeling of environmental processes. This in turn is facilitating decision-making thanks to new
technologies such as geographic information system
(GIS) and a new generation of web-based
services such as virtual globe browsers which may gradually replace stand-alone software platforms.
Today, a broadband Internet connection is probably the most important tool to support environmental
research, learning and decision-making.

But not all countries have the capacity to take advantage of these technologies in order to use the full
potential of ICTs for environmental action. There is a need to strengthen the capacity of developing
countries to benefit from the use of ICTs for managing the environment to help countries mitigate the
impact of and adapt to environmental and climate change – all while helping them to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
There is a clear need for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to global environmental
action through access to ICTs and the use of information technologies and management practices to
eliminate duplication of efforts. This can be done by consolidating action at national levels on the
many and varied environmental conventions and initiatives that developing countries have already
agreed to in principle. ICTs provide a unique opportunity to do so while assisting in building local
capacity to use these tools and practices. There is also a need to assign the environment a more
important profile in ICT strategic planning initiatives at the national level and, in particular, in
e-Government initiatives so that the use of ICTs for the environment is integrated into planning
processes from the beginning, along with other national priorities and initiatives.
x ICTs for e-Environment
www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/app/e-env.html
Finally, the ICTs for e-Environment report proposes a methodology to undertake rapid national
e-Environment assessments as well as to develop and implement national e-Environment strategies.
Among other proposals, the report recommends the preparation of an e-Environment toolkit comprised
of best practices as one practical method to assist developing countries to take advantage of ICTs for
environmental research, planning and action. Strengthening ongoing research activities is another
proposal as well as placing more focus on the environment sector in e-Government initiatives.
Working on a regional basis may be the best approach for smaller, landlocked or island jurisdictions,
such as small island developing states (SIDS).
Whatever approach is taken to support the use of ICTs for environmental action in sustainable
development, it must be undertaken in close collaboration with key development partners at the
national and international level and in consultation with actors in the public and private sectors as well
as civil society.
This is a preliminary scoping study. The authors recognize the need for much more feedback from
development practitioners and environmental actors – especially from collaborators and partners in the

developing world. There is also a need for more input from stakeholders at local and community levels
where there are undoubtedly many additional important examples that can be shared on how ICTs can
be used for environmental action.

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2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT
2.1. Introduction
The objective of this report is to provide a high-level overview that documents the use of information
and communication technologies (ICTs) in the area of the environment with a particular emphasis on
the needs and perspectives of the developing world. This report looks at current use and trends in the
use of ICTs for environmental applications around the world in an attempt to identify the key issues
and applications and to draw conclusions on how to enhance their use by governments and other
stakeholders.
2.2. A growing interest in climate change
During the preparation period of this report (2007/2008), the importance of climate change was the
subject of much interest on the international stage. In fact, the urgency of acting on climate change
was highlighted in 2007 as a result of following events:
• The publication of “Climate Change 2007”, the 4
th
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
2
, a report that received wide media attention for the definitive
evidence it presented underlining the need to act immediately to mitigate the impact of climate
change on planet Earth;
• The IPCC and Mr. Albert (Al) Gore Jr. were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007
3
“for their
efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to

lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”;
• The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali which adopted the Bali roadmap to
finalize negotiation processes by 2009, which is intended to lead to a post-2012 international
agreement on climate change
4
. This conference also received wide media attention as the follow-
on to the IPCC Assessment Report.
The result of this growing interest is that much more information is now being published about the
role, both proven and potential, of ICTs in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and how they
could contribute to help reduce and even reverse climate change.
Many efforts are underway to deal with the issue of climate change and adaptation to climate change
but we are still at an early stage. It appears clear from the research undertaken in preparing this report
that climate change has become a predominant issue that the international community needs to
urgently address. The exact role that ICTs play in this domain is the subject of growing policy
research, much enthusiasm and good intentions — but a shared understanding of the greatest
opportunities that ICTs have with regard to environmental action remains elusive.
While this study considers environmental issues, it does so within a broader context of sustainable
development — with a focus on human, social and economic development — and on achieving the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In this regard, the report adheres to the principles of
sustainable development as outlined by the World Commission on Environment and Development
(WCED) which was captured in Our Common Future,
5
the report the World Commission produced in
1987.



2
IPCC. See
3

Nobel Foundation. 2007. The Nobel Peace Prize 2007.
/>
4
UNFCCC. 2007. Bali Action Plan. Advanced unedited edition.
/>
5
World Commission on Environment and Development. 1987.
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2.3. Background on this report
This report was commissioned by the ICT Applications and Cybersecurity Division (CYB) of the
International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D).
The CYB Division is the ITU-D’s focal point for assisting developing countries in bridging the digital
divide by advancing the use of internet protocol-based networks, services and applications, developing
e-strategies and promoting cybersecurity
6
. One activity of the CYB Division is to develop guidelines
on the technology and policy aspects of ICT applications such as e-Environment
7
.
With regard to ITU’s broader activities on climate change, see the ITU’s dedicated website on ITU
and Climate Change at

ITU has also been identified as one of the co-moderators/co-facilitators for follow-up on the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Action Line C7 on e-Environment — together with the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO),
the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and
UN-Habitat. Additional information on WSIS Action Line C7 on e-Environment can be found at

2.4. Investigators who contributed to the report

Richard Labelle
Mr. Labelle has a background in the biological sciences and over 26 years of experience in
institutional strengthening and on issues related to sustainable development and the management of
information and knowledge in countries around the world. He has undertaken missions to 58 countries
to advise government and other development actors on the use of the Internet and of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) and to present, discuss and negotiate projects to build capacity to
make beneficial use of these tools. He has developed and implemented several ICT strategies, action
plans and projects including projects in e-Government, e-Commerce, for local and community
development. From 1981 to 1990, Richard Labelle was responsible for the knowledge management
activities of the International Council for Research on Agroforestry (ICRAF) now the World
Agroforestry Centre, a research centre of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research located in Nairobi, Kenya. Mr. Labelle can be contacted at

Kerstin Ludwig
Ms. Ludwig is currently project officer on ICT applications and e-strategies - including for
environment and sustainable development – in the ITU’s ICT Applications and Cybersecurity
Division, Policies and Strategy Department, Telecommunication Development Bureau. Ms. Ludwig
can be contacted at

Ralph Rodschat
Mr. Rodschat currently works for Nortel and has over 19 years of experience in telecommunications.
Over the past 10 years, he has worked with telecom networks in over 25 developing countries
throughout Asia and South America. He holds an MBA in international business and development and
has remained involved in development through an innovative environmental education program in the
Philippines in 1998, his involvement in the Telecommunications Executive Management Institute of



6
The CYB Division has coordination responsibility for Programme 3 of the Doha Action Plan adopted at the 2006

World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-06). Priority activities of the Division include
promoting cybersecurity
, e-strategies, ICT applications, Internet and IP networks development, multilingualization,
and community telecentres
. See URL:
7
See World Telecommunication Development Conference (Doha, 2006) Resolution 54: Information and
communication technology applications instructing the ITU-D to undertake studies on ICT applications, including
e-Environment, and to circulate the outputs to all Member States. See />D/cyb/app/docs/wtdc_resolution_54.pdf.

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Canada (TEMIC) training program since 2002, and on-going support for NGOs in both Canada and
the Philippines. Mr. Rodschat can be contacted at

Tony Vetter
Mr. Tony Vetter is a Program Officer for the Knowledge Communications team at the International
Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). IISD is a non-profit, non-governmental research
institute demonstrating how human ingenuity can sustainably improve the development of our global
environment, economy and society. Based in Winnipeg, IISD works in Canada and internationally
through our offices in Geneva, Ottawa and New York. Mr. Vetter can be contacted at

2.5. Terms of reference
The terms of reference for this study can be found in Annex 5 to this report on page 7169.
2.6. Definitions
Information and communication technology (ICT)
For the purposes of this report, the definition of information and communications technology is an
umbrella term that include any communication device or system encompassing, inter alia, radio,
television, mobile phones, computer and networking hardware and software, satellite systems, as well
as the various services and applications associated with them.

e-Environment
For the purposes of this report, the definition of e-Environment
8
is: a) The use and promotion of ICTs
as an instrument for environmental protection and the sustainable use of natural resources; b) The
initiation of actions and implementation of projects and programmes for sustainable production and
consumption and the environmentally safe disposal and recycling of discarded hardware and
components used in ICTs, and; c) The establishment of monitoring systems, using ICTs, to forecast
and monitor the impact of natural and man-made disasters, particularly in developing countries, LDCs
and small economies.
2.7. Scope of study
In an attempt to better understand the contribution of ICTs and related management practices as tools
for dealing with environmental issues, particularly from a developing country perspective, this report
examines the following ICT application categories in the referenced chapters:
• Environmental observation (Chapter
7, page 29)
• Environmental analysis (Chapter 7, page
45)
• Environmental planning (Chapter
9, page 57)
• Environmental management and protection (Chapter
10, page 61)
• Impact and mitigating effects of ICT utilization (Chapter
11, page 67)
• Environmental capacity building (Chapter
12, page 85)



8

Derived from the text in the Geneva Plan of Action (2003) from the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS) Action Line C7: E-environment ( />)
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In addition, a list of specific ICT applications for each category has been prepared and can be found in
Annex 2 of this report starting on page
122. A selected number of these are considered in more detail
from the perspective of their adoptability and transferability to developing countries using a model
assessment framework in Annex 1 of this report starting on page
106.
2.8. Methodology
This report draws principally from online research but also included interviews with specialists and
experts in the use of ICTs in the environmental field.

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3. ICTS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
3.1. Introduction
In the past 10 years or so, the availability and use of ICTs has grown dramatically around the world
(see
Figure 1 below). In the developing world especially, this growth has been largely due to the
growth of mobile telephony. According to a recent ITU report
9
“…by the end of 2006, there were a
total of nearly 4 billion mobile and fixed line subscribers and over 1 billion Internet users. This
included 1.27 billion fixed telephone lines, 2.68 billion mobile subscribers (61 per cent of which were
located in developing countries) and some 1.13 billion Internet users.”
Figure 1. Growth in fixed lines, mobile subscribers and Internet users, in billions, World (1996-2006)
10

Source: ITU
11

3.2. ICT diffusion around the world
While the penetration of ICTs in the developed world has reached high levels, the penetration of ICTs
in the developing world is still growing and there are marked differences between different categories
of countries. ITU data
12
once again shows (see Figure 2 below):
• That countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
augmented by Taiwan, China; Hong Kong, China; Macao, China; and Singapore (“OECD +”),
accounting for 18.7 per cent of the world’s population, have demonstrated marked growth in ICT
uptake with the exception of fixed line access.
• Whereas in the least developed countries (LDCs) which are made up of the “ 50 least developed
countries, recognized by the United Nations as requiring special attention in development
assistance, accounting for 11.9 per cent of the world’s population”, growth rates are very low.
• In all other countries, which are termed developing and which account for 69.7 per cent of the
world’s population, rates are growing but albeit not at the same rapid pace as the developed
countries in the “OECD +” categorization.



9
ITU. 2007. Trends in telecommunication reform 2007. The Road to Next Generation Networks (NGN). Geneva.
238 pp.
10
Idem.
11
Idem.

12
ITU. 2006. World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report 2006. Measuring ICT for social and economic
development. ITU. Geneva. 206 pp.
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3.3. The digital divide
While these data are important in determining access to ICTs and related applications, they do not tell
the full story. ICT penetration rates are lower in developing countries than in the more industrialized
countries. That said, nearly all capital cities in developing countries of the world have access to some
form of broadband connectivity. While ICT penetration rates are lower in rural areas and higher in the
urban areas around the world, both in developing as well as developed countries, rural areas of
developing countries typically have much poorer connectivity and particularly poor broadband
connectivity.
Figure 2. Penetration of selected ICTs, by category of economies, 1996-2006

International Internet capacity continues to increase steadily, growing at a compound annual rate of 45
per cent according to a recent study by Telegeography Research
13
, as reported by Broadband
Properties. According to this report, “…on average, peak international Internet backbone traffic grew
60 per cent between 2006 and 2007, while bandwidth grew 68 per cent.”



13
See www.telegeography.com and also “International Internet capacity growth accelerates” in
/>

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According to Ovum Research
14
, again as reported by Broadband Properties, after benchmarking
countries from all regions of the world, the ten fastest growing broadband markets are: Greece, the
Philippines, Indonesia, Ireland, India, Ukraine, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia and Turkey.
3.4. Access to PCs: an issue in developing countries
Generally, developing countries have less access to computers and this includes both high speed
computing resources as well as personal computers. Notwithstanding the introduction of innovative
solutions such as the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) PC and related initiatives, the cost of PCs still
remains prohibitively high for the average citizen of a developing country. Users in these countries are
more likely to log on at work or in community access facilities such as cybercafés or telecentres,
which are very popular in many parts of the developing world. Fewer computers with less computing
power and poor network access have serious implications for the use of ICTs in day-to-day life as well
as in the broad use of ICTs for science and technology applications.
3.5. Broadband access to online data and knowledge resources
A major trend is the provision of public Internet access to a wide variety of data sources, including
geospatial data including the use of “visual earth engines” such as Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual
Earth. To take advantage of these online resources, countries that are not already directly connected to
the global fiber backbone, such as many countries in Africa, need to gain access to submarine fiber
networks that link them with other regions and continents.
Many landlocked countries of Africa that do not have full access to submarine fiber connections are at
a definite disadvantage. The low household broadband growth rate in the Middle East and Africa
reflects this current situation (see
Figure 3 below).
As a measure of how far ahead some regions are, Hong Kong, a leader in the provision of broadband
services to its population, has recently announced that it will be offering customers access to Gigabit
broadband services for USD 215.40 / month with 100 Mbps for USD 48.50 / month
15
.

14
See www.ovum.com and also: “Top ten fastest-growing broadband markets” in
/>
15
See Fiber Deployment Roundup Asia-Pacific.
/>
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Figure 3. Growth in broadband use in households, 2006-2007
16


Source: Broadband Properties.
3.6. The importance of being mobile
The data graphed in Figure 2 above shows the importance of mobile telephony as the
telecommunications platform of prevalence around the world. In developing countries, where
“…access to basic communications has basically been achieved through mobile communications”
17
,
wireless technologies have proven to be especially important.

In developing countries, mobile telephony remains generally more accessible than PCs and the
Internet. In general, wireless technologies are likely to be more broadly used in developing countries
for Internet access and increasing mobile broadband speeds will further facilitate access to the Internet
for mobile subscribers. However, there remain a number of challenges ahead including broader
adoption of broadband mobile technologies and availability of spectrum. For backbone or core
networks, other transport technologies are likely to continue to dominate.
3.7. Saturating the Internet?

Concerns about the “exaflood”
18
or the exponential growth of data stored online as well as the
increasing demand of bandwidth posed by the growing popularity of video and audio downloads and
file exchanges as well as multimedia streaming of various sorts
19
raise the prospect that the current
Internet infrastructure may not be sufficient to meet future demands. The situation will be exacerbated
when high definition video becomes more prevalent. With this scenario in mind, it is clear that
countries will need to move to fiber optics to meet their growing backbone communication
requirements
20
. Other broadband transport or access technologies including fixed or mobile broadband
technologies such as WiFi, WiMAX and 3G or 4G as well as cable or DSL will not be able to meet
the demand, except perhaps as local area network or very last mile (or last few meters) access
technologies that work at the periphery of the Internet.



16
Broadband Properties. 2007. IPTV deployment almost triples in a year. In First Mile, November 2007 issue, pp.
12-14. />
17
ITU. 2007. Trends in telecommunication reform 2007. The road to next generation networks (NGN). Geneva.
238 pp.
18
McClure, D. 2007. The Exabyte Internet. Broadband Properties. Vol. 27, No. 5. May 2007, pp 16-21.
/>
19
Internet Innovation Alliance. 2007. What exactly is the exaflood?

/> also:
/>
20
Nemertes Research. 2007. The Internet Singularity, Delayed: Why Limits in Internet Capacity Will Stifle
Innovation on the Web. Produced by Nemertes Research. Fall 2007, 62 pp.

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3.8. The importance of being fiber
For scientific and other high bandwidth applications such as video transfers, fiber optic-based
technologies are considered essential because of the increasing size of data resources and significant
data transfer rates required for some ICT applications, including those used in the e-Environment field,
such as those based on spatial data or manipulating large data sets.
For countries to participate fully in collaborative international research activities linked to the
environment, and for these countries to take advantage of the opportunities for learning as well as for
research, improved backbone network resources will have to be made available — most likely based
on fiber optic solutions. Fiber optic core network infrastructures are likely able to provide as much
bandwidth as necessary to meet the requirements of a number of different applications. An emerging
paradigm of open access networks encourages service providers and application resellers to focus on
shared infrastructures instead of building separate infrastructure for different or even unique
applications. In any case, developing countries need to foresee the use of their national core networks
for many purposes outside of research and development or education.
Limited access to fiber optic backbone networks is forcing many countries, particularly in Africa and
small island states, to use satellite services to access the Internet. Technical limitations from the use of
satellite broadband technologies limit the usefulness of certain kinds of applications that require rapid
access rates and little network latency. At the time of preparing this report, for instance, the EASSy
submarine link for East Africa appeared to be on the verge of beginning the installation phase of the
project with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) announcing that it had closed on financing
arrangements
21

and that “…the construction of the cable is now scheduled to commence on 14th
March 2008”
22
. East Africa is one of the last regions not to be served extensively by submarine cables
(see
Figure 4 below) and the project will be ready for commercial service during the first half of
2010
23
.



21
See o/doing_business/economy/infrastructure/eassy.htm
22
See
23
See Ibid.
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Figure 4. Submarine Cable Map
2007


Source: Telegeography
3.9. Impact of ICTs on productivity and national development
The increasingly ubiquitous use of ICTs in all aspects of human endeavor is transforming the way that
people live and work. ICTs have been demonstrated to contribute to economic growth and
development by stimulating the productivity of people, organizations and nations.
Figure 5 below from another recent ITU report

24
shows the impact ICTs have on economic growth in
all regions of the world. This is in contrast with the situation in the mid-1990’s where the impact of
increased investments in ICT use was not apparently clearly related to increases in productivity and
gross domestic product (GDP). According to the “Digital Economy 2000” report of the US
Department of Commerce
25
, only in the latter part of the 1990’s was evidence produced demonstrating
that the investment in ICTs had a positive contribution to gross domestic product. Previous to the
1990’s, information technology (IT) and telecommunications were generally seen as separate and
distinct sectors of the economy. While telecom had previously been linked with productivity increases,
IT was typically not.



24
ITU. 2006. World telecommunication/ICT development report 2006. Measuring ICT for social and economic
development. ITU. Geneva. 206 pp.
25
US Department of Commerce. 2000. Digital Economy 2000. Washington, D.C., 84 pp.

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Figure 5. ICTs contribution to economic growth

Source: ITU
The broad availability of ICTs impacts society and the economy in different ways. Some of these are
highlighted below.
Social impact
• Enhanced capacity and efficiency in accessing and delivering social and community services by

transforming government and other social service providers (such as NGOs) as well as local and
community groups into more client-focused providers of public services according to current
models of e-Government;
• Greater and more varied communication between the public and the government and other
providers of public services at the local, national and international levels, and the possibility of
greater participation by or partnership with the public in government decision-making and public
service delivery;
• Enhanced self sufficiency at the local and community level;
• Greater access to opportunities for the poor and disenfranchised.
Human impact
• Impacts that accrue as a result of ICTs providing more choices for people to work, learn,
entertain themselves, trade, be productive and contribute to the mainstream of social, cultural and
economic life of the community, region, country they live in and beyond;
• More opportunities for people to be and become self-sufficient, as well as local and community
level empowerment and self-sufficiency;
• Some possible downsides of increased ICT use including addiction to online activities such as
chat, surfing, shopping, gaming, gambling, pornography, trivial and other virtual activities that
limit face-to-face interaction and socializing.
Economic impact
• Enhanced capacity and efficiency of the private sector to meet the needs of customers;
• Improved production efficiency;
• More consumer choice and greater competition in the market place;
• Enhanced access to markets and to buying and selling opportunities;
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• New opportunities for service delivery (for examples: call centres, offshoring, etc.) and economic
transactions at the local, national and international level;
• Enhanced efficiency in the operation of markets and in buying and selling.
Impact on research and development
• Enables and enhances research networking and exchanges;

• Allows recent graduates to remain connected and to continue learning and researching;
• Greater access to funding possibilities and to collaborative research ventures;
• Opportunity to gain access to otherwise unavailable computing resources including digital data
warehouses via research grids and cloud computing;
• More opportunity to undertake research in the developing world in line with follow-up on WSIS
Action Line C7 on e-environment;
• More opportunity for residents and especially students in the developing world to learn about
science and technology;
• More opportunity to apply ICTs to problem-solving at the local and community level which can
enhance local self-sufficiency in disaster early warning, mitigation and management;
• Makes it easier for countries to meet their reporting requirements under various environmental
treaties.
Impact on the environment
These are discussed extensively in Chapter
11 of this report starting on page 67.

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4. THE ENVIRONMENT AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
4.1. Introduction
This chapter situates the support for environmental action in ongoing international development
activities and the evolution of mainstreaming environmental programming in global development
initiatives.
4.2. The changing perceptions of the environment
Environment issues are increasingly at the fore of public concerns in the industrialized as well as in
the developing world. According to a recent report published by the Pew Research Center (USA)
which undertook a global opinion survey of 47 nations, there is a “…general increase in the
percentage of people citing pollution and environmental problems as a top global threat. Worries have
risen sharply in Latin America and Europe, as well as in Japan and India”
26

.
Another poll commissioned by the BBC World Service shows that, “…large majorities around the
world believe that human activity causes global warming and that strong action must be taken, sooner
rather than later, in developing as well as developed countries, according to a BBC World Service poll
of 22,000 people in 21 countries”
27
.
The results of these surveys demonstrate a widespread consensus that developing countries should
take action on climate change along with developed countries. In the BBC survey referenced above,
seventy per cent of urban Chinese respondents believe major steps are needed quickly to address
climate change. In all but one of the developing countries polled, the weight of opinion is towards
agreeing to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the context of a deal that requires wealthy countries to
provide aid and technology. All of the developed countries polled endorsed this idea by large margins.
According to the European Commission, concern about the environment in international development
circles is a fairly recent phenomenon. This information which has been excerpted word for word from
the European Commission website appears below
28
.
• Environmental concerns did not figure on the international agenda when the UN was created. This
explains the absence of a UN role in environmental protection in the UN Charter. However, with
increasing evidence of deterioration of the environment scale in the following decades, the UN
became a leading advocate for environmental concerns and sustainable development.
• Following the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972,
the United Nations Environment Programme (
UNEP) was established as the main UN body in the
field of environment. As a subsidiary of the General Assembly, the Governing Council of UNEP
reports to the Assembly, which considers and decides on selected environmental and environment-
related issues, including institutional arrangements and related international processes.
• In the post-Stockholm years, mounting concern over continuing environmental degradation led the
UNGA to convene the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1983. The report of

the Commission (the Brundtland Report) was a catalyst for the 1992 UN Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit. Among other outcomes,



26
Pew Research Center. 2007. Global Unease With Major World Powers Rising Environmental Concern in 47-
Nation Survey. Released June 27, 2007. />
27
BBC World Service. 2007. All Countries Need to Take Major Steps on Climate Change: Global Poll. 25 pp.
September 2007.

28
European Commission. International issues – Multilateral relations – United Nations
/>